Lowellville police search for stolen jewelry, find drugs

Two West Walnut Street residents face drug charges after police served a search warrant at their home Wednesday morning and found drugs and drug paraphernalia inside.

Paul Sforza, 33, and Jeny Esenwein, 32, both of the 500 block of West Walnut Street, are charged with possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and child endangering, as two children also live at the residence.

Police found syringes containing suspected heroin and suspected heroin residue, along with suspected crack cocaine and “quite a few pills” of prescription drugs, said police Chief Ryan Bonacci. They also found a credit card with another woman’s name on it, and charged Sforza and Esenwein with having stolen property, reports say.

A search warrant was issued after a local pawn shop confirmed that jewelry reported stolen Oct. 29 and Nov. 3 had been pawned by a resident of the West Walnut Street address. Police entered the residence, which had a door ajar, shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday, and Sforza and Esenwein returned to their home while officers were searching for the stolen items.

“To come across these drugs was a little bit of a surprise. We anticipated finding jewelry, not drugs,” Bonacci said. “People know that kind of behavior will not be tolerated down here. We want to make our community as safe as possible.”